I found myself falling further into the spinning fog, desperately longing to have him inside of me. I was so wet, my nipples aching for the mere touch of his fingers.
Twisting.
Pulling.
Perhaps I craved his domination, his controlling method of keeping me in line, forcing me to face all the blissful darkness that I’d avoided my entire life.
Since Angelo.
Since the horror.
Since the change in my entire life.
He slipped his tongue past my lips, exploring the dark recesses of my mouth. As the moment shifted into searing heat, consuming the both of us, sadness used its bony fingers, slowing ripping away at my insides. I couldn’t do this. Not now.
Not to the man I cared desperately about.
I pressed my hands against his chest, pushing hard when he refused to let go.
His eyes were wild, laced with extreme lust. “What’s wrong?” His voice was barely audible, husky and ripe with need.
“I can’t do this. Not right now.”
“Did I hurt you?”
I shook my head, fighting all the desire, knowing whatever happened, I had to get through the meeting first before anything else mattered.
An ending.
A beginning.
Perhaps a full demise of the woman who’d been created by lies.
“I appreciate how much you want to protect me, but I am pretty good at watching out for myself,” I whispered.
That seemed to break the spell. He pulled away, moving back toward the champagne, pouring then staring out the window.
“Aleksei, I do care about you. I just can’t think clearly right now.”
He waved his hand, his expression stoic.
What had I done? I bit my lip, reining in the myriad emotions. I’d been played my entire life, forced into doing things that were far too wretched to even think about. Aleksei didn’t deserve that.
No one did.
“We are going to the Kennedy Center for a performance of the Melbourne Orchestra. I bought a few things that I hope you’ll like. They are appropriate attire for the evening. We’ll have dinner then the concert. Of course, I’ll sleep on the couch tonight. We will leave promptly at six tonight and the restaurant will not hold the reservation.” His words were succinct, devoid of any emotion.
“What else? The yin and yang of your personality is killing me, but I know you well enough to realize that business comes first. What the hell are we really doing here?” I realized my demand could infuriate him again, but I was finished with games.
“As I said before, you are a very intelligent and observant woman and you’re right. This is an important viewing for both of us. There is certain to be press there, dignitaries. By being together, it will send a direct message to Peter’s organization.”
Oh. My. God.
Now I saw the entire picture. A perfect way to crush anything my brother was planning.
“Why didn’t I see it before? You’re merely using me to get to him, ruffle his feathers,” I hissed, now incensed. I should have guessed this trip had an ulterior motive. I backed away, angrier with myself than with him for not seeing the larger picture. “God, how stupid you must think I am.”
He slowly turned his head, another hard gaze falling toward the floor. “I handle business in a certain manner, keeping my enemies off guard. If your brother believes we are together, he will think carefully about trying to move against me. That wouldn’t be in his best interest. You are a person to be reckoned with. This will help both of us.”
The bastard.
The asshole.
He’d fooled me again. All the lavish crap; the plane and the hotel, the expensive evening planned were merely part of the game. “I can’t believe you. You make me sick, Aleksei, but I will tell you this. When this ruse is over, I never want to see you again.” I heard the anger in my voice along with a hint of anguish. I’d actually bought his line of bullshit.
“This is important, Willow. You’ve always known that. Take some time to rest before we go. I have some business to attend to.”
“Why don’t you trust me enough to tell me the truth, Aleksei? I can tell you’re hiding something significant. That’s the reason that you were so distant this morning. Wasn’t it?”
He seemed uncomfortable, but I was determined to get to the truth.
“There are things you shouldn’t know about,” he said quietly.
“Such as? You had a visitor at the house. I heard a different voice. Who was that?”
Snarling, his eyes opened wide. “You were eavesdropping.”
“Whatever the terms of the deal you forced me into, you mentioned that you prefer the truth. Then learn to provide it. You also talked about trust. There is no way I can trust you when you refuse to tell me exactly what’s going on.” I walked closer, refusing to give an inch. “What disturbed you so badly that you shut me out completely?”